It has yet to be announced if she has secured a new role ahead of her departure.

Sky is now beginning a "thorough" recruitment drive for Turner Laing's replacement, and will announce her successor in "due course".

She previously worked at the BBC, including the role of acting director of television.

"I have had the most fabulous career at Sky," she said in a statement. "As a passionate believer in creative change, it is now someone else's turn to drive the next phase of growth in content at Sky. I have been hugely privileged and honoured to work with such brilliant colleagues across the company."

Sky's chief executive Jeremy Darroch said: "I would like to thank Sophie for her outstanding leadership and for the tremendous job she's done developing our content business. With the support of an excellent team, Sophie has helped us to make a step change in the scale and ambition of our entertainment offering.

"Sophie will leave with all of our best wishes and I am pleased that she will continue to have a close relationship with Sky in the future. I'm confident that the strong foundations that Sophie has put in place, together with the strong team here at Sky, will enable us to take the business to even greater heights in the future."